Her Saving Grace
by Ariel3JLP
Summary: When Lily becomes the object of affection for a powerful and handsome Ravenclaw, she isn't too worried. But when she falls for James Potter, the relationship takes a severe turn for the worse. She is forced to choose between love and life.
1. Meeting Mr Purcell

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters…just the part of the plot that I came up with. Parts of this story are inspired by the movie Moulin Rouge but I've changed bits of it and twisted it to make it my own.**

**A/N-**I'm accustomed to writing Lily and James "love only" fics so this is my first shot at some love and action. The thing that I really like about this story is that it is not going to immediately start out with Lily hating James and then suddenly loving him. Anyway, I hope you like this and don't be afraid to tell me what you really think. The first chapters aren't going to have James in them and it may not seem like an L/J at first, but stick with me and you will see it developing. Thank you and enjoy!

Oh yeah, and the rating is really for later chapters...there will be some violence/abuse and sexual situations although those will not be graphic. This is by no means a porno. So if you're not really into that stuff and just want James and Lily to have perfect and easy lives, this isn't the story for you.

**Chapter One: Meeting Mr. Purcell**

Lily could be found lying on her bed upside down, her feet propped up on the wall in her tennis skirt and swimsuit top practically every afternoon. Her window was open and a breeze was ruffling the curtains yet she was still sweating. The sun was beating down on the large house in the London countryside and had not been interrupted by a passing cloud all day.

Lily hated the heat more than anything. She didn't like being sweaty and it gave her a headache. The whole week she'd been trying to do things to keep her mind off of how hot she always was, but so far nothing had worked. She always ended up staring up at the ceiling and dreaming of Christmas time.

After she turned seventeen in July, Lily had used a temporary sticking charm to put her calendar up on the ceiling. Every morning she would grab her wand from her nightstand, take aim, and blast an "X" over the previous day. She could not remember a time when she had longed to return to Hogwarts more than she did at this exact moment. It wasn't that she was having a bad time, she was just ready for life to return to normal.

Her parents had died the previous summer and she had come here to live with her best friend and her family. Graci Davis was spectacular, as were her parents Abigail and Samson. When Lily had found out about her parents' death she had shown up one night on Graci's front porch with her trunk and a sleeping bag. Abigail had instantly opened her house to Lily, giving her the guestroom and taking her on as a second daughter. Lily was truly grateful for all that the Davises had done for her. She did not know how she would have survived last summer without them.

Her parents' death had been kept a huge secret from her. The night she found out, she and Petunia had been arguing about the terrible dinner her sister had cooked when the phone rang. Petunia picked it up. Lily knew something terrible had happened when her sister began crying. Once the phone call was over Petunia told Lily that their parents had been hit by a drunk driver and killed. Lily didn't believe it though. It was six o' clock when they received the call and how many drunk drivers are on the road before then? Lily became obsessed with finding out the truth and sent letter after letter and owl after owl to the Ministry. No response ever came. The Davises ran a popular night club, The "W" Factor, so they didn't have much pull in the Ministry but had managed to at least find out through the owners of the club that it was indeed a magical murder and her parents weren't the only ones killed.

The previous summer she had dreaded going back because she knew that somehow people would know about her loss and then everyone would feel sorry for her and try to help her when really all she wanted to do was ignore it and pretend that it hadn't happened. She just wanted everything to seem normal so that she could believe it was. Lily had always hated it whenever people felt sorry for her or pitied her.

She assumed that this year the reason she wanted to go back so badly was because it was the one place that she could feel truly at home. The Davis house was very nice and she felt comfortable there, but it wasn't home. The castle, with its many turrets and towers made her feel at ease and safe, something she rarely felt outside of school. That was because of Voldemort though, it had nothing to do with where she was living.

As her thoughts drifted to the Dark Lord and worry began gripping her insides a large barn owl soared into her room and screeched loudly, dropping two very heavy parchment envelopes on her bed. Both were sealed with the Hogwarts crest. She began to peel open the first letter when the barn owl screeched loudly again. She looked at it confused before her eyes fell upon a tiny canvas bag hanging from its left talon.

"What, I have to pay you now?" Lily grumbled as she searched her drawer for a Knut. She slipped it into the pouch and the owl screeched again. "It's all I have!" Lily argued. "Do you think I'm made of money?" The owl snapped its beak warningly but then soared out of her window once again.

Lily was now in a very sour mood and grumbled slightly when she saw the long list of books that she would need for her advanced N.E.W.T. classes. She thought of her ever-emptying vault in the Gringotts Bank and groaned a little more audibly as she thought of how empty her potions kit was and how tight her robes had been fitting at the end of the previous year. She would have enough money to cover her this year but she knew that getting a decent paying job would be her number one priority as soon as her seventh year was over.

She eyed the second envelope wearily, praying that there wouldn't be another list of things that she needed to buy in it. She slid the top flap open and out fell a shiny silver badge with the Hogwarts coat of arms etched into it along with the letters "HG." Lily let out a squeal of glee, her bad mood deserting her. She smiled widely at it before placing it carefully on her pillow and pulling out the sheet of parchment still inside the envelope.

"Dear Ms. Evans,  
Congratulations on being named Head Girl for the upcoming school year. Professor Dumbledore, along with the rest of the staff believes that you are well suited for the job. Normally we would not divulge the name of the Head Boy in this letter, but under the circumstance feel that it is necessary. The Head Boy that you will be working with throughout the year is Mr. James Potter."

Lily's bad mood returned just as quickly as it had gone.

"We are looking forward to seeing you on September 1. Have a good rest of the summer.  
Yours Sincerely,  
Professor M McGonagall."

Lily shot a dirty look at the Head Girl badge and threw her letters onto the ground, as if taking out her anger on inanimate objects would help. It didn't.

No, Lily continued to huff and groan until Graci entered the room holding her own Hogwarts letter.

"Did you have to pay that bloody owl? Since when are the students being charged to get their book lists?" came a loud and girlish voice as her best friend walked through Lily's room and sat at the head of the bead, where Lily's feet were residing at the moment.

Graci was beautiful, there was absolutely no argument otherwise. She had long, soft blonde hair and brilliantly blue eyes. She was tall and extremely thin and her parents often said that she would make a fantastic model. She had a creamy white complexion and Lily would swear up and down that she had never seen the likes of a blemish on her face. Her teeth were straight and white and she had the cutest button nose. Boys at school practically fell over her, always asking her out and starting fights over her.

That's not to say that Lily wasn't pretty. She was very pretty in fact with her long auburn hair and slender body. She wasn't as tall as Graci or as flawless (she did have the occasional pimple) but she had more of a classic beauty. People often overlooked this simply because she was always with Graci. On the few times that Lily had said something like this to her friend she would always simply retort, "James Potter thinks you're beautiful." That would always shut her up…or send her into a mad rant going on for hours about how much she hated him.

Graci always said that she had to be beautiful or else her parents wouldn't notice her. This statement, although quite harsh, was true. Abigail and Samson were completely engrossed in their nightclub. Whether they were investing all of their money or all of their time in the "W" Factor, Graci never seemed to be enough to keep them occupied. They loved her a lot they just didn't know how to show it. They tended to be a bit self-absorbed, a trait that Graci inherited but always denied having.

"Yeah, it screeched at me until I paid it, and then it was mad because I only had one Knut. I guess it wanted more for delivering two letters," Lily said monotonously, clearly not interested at all in the subject.

"Two?" Graci mouthed as she looked around in search of the second. Lily pointed dully at her pillow, and much in the same way Lily had minutes earlier, she squealed shrilly. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Graci demanded as she playfully hit Lily on the arm. "This is all you talked about on the train home…whether or not you would get the Head Girl badge." Graci looked at it hungrily as it glinted in the sunlight.

"There's more," breathed Lily picking up the letter from McGonagall and handing it to the blonde. Graci took it from her hand and began to read and when she read "James Potter" she began giggling madly. Lily glared at her as she stood up and did a little dance while chanting,

"You have to work with Potter! You have to work with Potter!" Lily's scowl broke momentarily as she reached for her pillow and hurled it at Graci. She easily dodged it though and continued her chant. When Lily went back to scowling at the ceiling, Graci sat down again.

"You know you're excited despite the fact that Potter is Head Boy," Graci said matter-of-factly as she sat down and ran her fingers through her hair. She had an odd habit of messing with her blonde locks while she spoke. Sometimes she braided it and sometimes she twisted it around her index finger, but it was like she was unable to function properly if her hair was lying still.

"Well, with any luck he'll curse a 1st year in front of McGonagall and they'll give the badge to somebody else," Lily said, a glimmer of hope in her voice.

"Normally I would be jealous that you got the badge and would have the academic limelight once again but you couldn't pay me to work with Potter for a whole year!" Graci stated, her face contorted into one of disgust when she uttered "Potter."

Lily let out a quiet laugh.

"What?" Graci said as she pulled a long strand of blonde hair down in front of her face. Her tongue was stuck out in concentration as she began braiding it.

"I was just remembering the time you told me that you hated James Potter more than I did." Lily sighed and Graci grinned as she looked at Lily.

"Oh yeah, and we got into that huge fight about which of us hated him more," Graci said.

"You won too. I could at least tolerate him when his friends, any female, Snape, and first years weren't around." Lily fell silent as she pondered something. "Why do you hate him so much anyway?"

Graci replied, without hesitation,

"He was talking bad about the "W" Factor in front of the entire common room." Lily squished up her face as she tried to remember when he had done that. She let a disbelieving laugh out as she remembered.

"Graci, that was in the 3rd year," Lily said in an almost amused tone.

"Well, nobody talks bad about my family…and that includes the club my parents run." Lily laughed inwardly at Graci's ability to hold a grudge against someone for nearly four years out of loyalty to a club.

Graci was very family oriented though. Her little brother had died when she was seven from an unknown illness. Graci's parents were her world. Everything she did was to please them: her looks, her grades (although they were never up to Lily's standard, they weren't terrible), she even took advanced Arithmancy so that she could help run the club once she graduated. Lily was Graci's best friend, but she knew that if Graci were forced to choose between Lily and her parents, she would be the one with the short end of the stick.

The girls sat in Lily's room for another few hours simply reliving the memories of last year and talking about how different things will be their seventh year. Before they knew it, Abigail was yelling up the stairs at them, telling them to wash up for dinner. Graci stubbed her toe on the way to the kitchen and was about to curse very loudly, when she was forced to keep silent.

The neighbors from down the street, the Purcells, were seated at their dinner table along with a very handsome boy about their age. His eyes flitted quickly over Graci and then settled on Lily but they did not move on as they had once they had surveyed Graci. They stayed fixed on her as she sat down and took a sip from her water.

"Lily, you've met Patrick and Karen Purcell," Abigail said as Lily smiled and nodded in their direction. She muttered a few polite hellos and then her eyes were drawn back to the boy sitting across from her. "This is their son, Alexander."

"Alex," he said as he reached across the food to shake her hand.

"Lily," she replied stupidly.

"Pleased to meet you," he said letting go of her hand. She almost said "ditto" but caught herself and just smiled at him. He had to tear his eyes away from her face as they said grace and began serving the food.

Alex was very good looking. He wasn't stunningly tall but he was probably about Graci's height, a good three inches taller than Lily. He had chocolate brown eyes and curly brown hair. She could see that he was very muscular because of the way his shirt fit around his chest and arms. He was tan and had very high cheekbones. His smile was debonair and the only flaw she saw on his body was a large scar on his right forearm. As Lily dwelled on this she realized that this scar might not even be perceived as a flaw by some girls, if you like that kind of thing, which Lily didn't.

He looked strangely familiar to her though. She knew she had never met him before, she would have remembered someone as good looking as him, but thought that she had seen his face sometime.

"Alex, have we met? I'm sorry to be so blunt, but you look very familiar to me," Lily inquired, attempting to sound polite and charming.

He smiled and she saw Graci practically melt and turn into goo next to her.

"I'm a seventh year at Hogwarts, or I will be in about a week. I'm in Ravenclaw though, that's probably why you don't know me." Lily smiled as she realized that she had seen him looking disgruntled in the crowd after Gryffindor won the Quidditch cup after slaughtering Ravenclaw. "I know who you are though," he continued, smile still perched on his face.

"Oh really," Lily said, still attempting to be charming.

"Mm hmm," he nodded and leaned back slightly in his seat so that he was gazing at her with a cocky grin on his face. "You're the girl who is always yelling at James Potter and Sirius Black." Lily's smile was replaced by a scowl as she looked at Graci who had started laughing again.

When the adults began discussing business the girls and Alex began talking about school.

"So, Lily, Graci, are you girls ready to go back to Hogwarts?" Alex asked, an edge of suave arrogance in his deep voice. He put a bite of baked chicken into his mouth and looked back and forth between the girls expectantly.

"Yes," Lily said simultaneously with Graci's "No."

Alex gave them both an amused look that clearly asked them to explain their answers.

"I'm just ready to be through with school," Graci admitted, tucking a strand of hair behind her left ear.

"And Lily?" Alex inquired, his eyes falling again to Lily. His gaze was penetrating and she could feel his eyes on her even when she was looking down at her plate. She couldn't shake the uneasy feeling it gave her but also wouldn't deny that she was a bit flattered that he was giving her more attention than he was giving her best friend.

"I don't really know why," she lied. She didn't feel like divulging all of the sappy details to this boy she'd never spoken to. "I just miss it, I suppose."

"And…what is it you miss?" Alex asked, clearly entertained with her basic answers. He had an arrogant air to his tone but it was not condescending, so Lily continued.

"Um…" She felt ridiculous for some reason and felt as if she was being interrogated for committing a crime. She looked over at Graci for help, but she had obviously grown bored and was staring down at her plate cross-eyed.

"You know, I miss the people, the teachers, even Quidditch."

"Quidditch?" Alex said laughing. Lily had to mentally slap her own hand for thinking about how pleasant his laugh was. It was more like a loud chuckle. His torso shook slightly and his eyes lit up.

"Yeah, it's nice to be in the house with the best team!" Lily smiled before realizing that she was flirting and quickly looked down and began mashing her peas.

As dinner progressed, Graci felt increasingly bored with every passing minute. Alex continued a seemingly endless conversation with Lily and every time Graci would jump in to say something, Alex would quickly get Lily's attention again. Graci didn't find this odd (as Lily did) but she did find it somewhat annoying. She wasn't used to being flat out ignored and wasn't sure that she liked it too much.

Finally, dinner ended with Alex inviting Lily and Graci to his house in two days time. They accepted and Lily headed upstairs. It was time to talk business. Graci was going to help her parents run the club once she graduated so she always got to listen to the meetings. She had no idea why Alex was still in the dining room but decided it didn't really matter.

The Purcells owned the "W" Factor and allowed the Davises to manage it. Patrick and Karen had never really been that interested in the club but knew that it was holding its own and so they never had a reason to shut it down before. All of that was about to change.

"Samson, Abigail," Patrick began once Lily's door had been closed, "as you know, Alexander here turned seventeen today." Abigail whispered a polite Happy Birthday and then looked back at Patrick. "We know how much the club means to you but we have no interest in it, at all."

"So, we decided to hand over the deed to Alex for his gift," Karen interjected. Samson's eyes widened and Abigail looked wordlessly in the young man's direction.

"Mr. and Mrs. Davis, I sincerely do not wish to crush all that you have worked so tirelessly to maintain for the past fifteen years," Alex began as relief swept over the faces of Graci's parents. "However, I do not believe that it is pulling its own weight. Profits are declining and I believe that it would be a smart move to close it down and open it as something more profitable such as a market or perhaps a clothing store." Abigail looked close to tears while Samson looked ready to explode.

"Now, see here young man," Samson boomed, "the "W" Factor has always carried its own weight. We always break even!" Samson was breathing very heavily but Alex's face was as calm as ever as the older man yelled at him.

"I understand, it is not costing us any money, that is very true. But Mr. Davis, a good business does not simply break even. It gains profit." He explained it to them as if explaining something very difficult to an extremely slow person. "I want my property to bring in money. If it does not do that, then it is of no use to me."

"Did you even consider what you were doing? This isn't just about money! That club is our life and we employ over 50 people, most of them poor teenagers who can't get other jobs and desperately need money. What about them? What are they supposed to do?" Samson roared. His face was red and he was standing up with his hands on the tabletop.

"Those people," Alex began with a cold edge in his voice, "are not my concern. What I care about is the gross income, not the lives it affects." Samson looked incredulously at this seventeen-year-old boy who was single-handedly tearing his world apart. His brown eyes no longer were glinting in warmth but had a steely look about them. His voice was no longer pleasant but powerful and cold. He stared Samson down and didn't say another word until he sat back down looking utterly defeated.

Tears had begun trickling down Abigail's cheeks now and Graci was bewildered. How could someone be so heartless? All she could do was watch as her future and her parents' present was being torn apart at the seams.

After a few moments of tense silence, Alex continued.

"I am willing, however, to invest some money into the club to bring in a bigger crowd thus bringing in greater profits…under one condition though." His parents looked over at them in a way that clearly told the Davises that he had not discussed this part of the deal with them. Alex didn't seem to care anymore as a hungry look infiltrated his eyes. For the first time that night he was showing signs of nervousness. His hands were twitching slightly as he continued to stare at Samson Davis.

"Anything, we'll do anything to keep the club. Just tell us what you want and we'll get it for you."

Alex smiled again but it was not the same one he had earlier. It was greedy as he cast his eyes downward to the fine oak tabletop.

"I want…Lily Evans."

**A/N-**What did you think? Too cheesy, too stupid, too predictable? Let me know, every little thing counts. I know this was a bit boring, but trust me there will be lots of action and love in the upcoming chapters. James as well should make an appearance soon. I missed writing him in this chapter.


	2. Butterflies and Uncertainty

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters/ideas from the book. If I did do you really think I'd be writing fan fiction? Nope, I'd be off enjoying my life as the lady who has more money than the queen. Parts of this plot were inspired by the movie Moulin Rouge.**

**A/N-**Hello, everybody! I hope you enjoy this chapter. It is really like part two of the first chapter to set up the whole story. James will be in the next chapter and thus the real plot will begin! Okay, all of my review replies are posted on my Harry Potter livejournal. So just go to my profile (click on the Ariel3JLP link) and then either go to the bottom and click on the hyperlink or click on the homepage link.

**Chapter Two: Butterflies and Uncertainty**

"You want _what_?" Graci exploded as her father's mouth dropped open in shock. It was the first thing Graci had said since Lily had left the table, and Alex was surveying her curiously though his eyes were still determined.

"Lily Evans. Didn't I make that clear?" His deep voice was cold and superior and he said it as if it were the most reasonable request he could have made. Graci was still shocked. She kept running it through her head over and over. How can you ask for a person as a means of trade? Some of what she was thinking must have come across on her face because he promptly continued in that arrogant way that was now becoming quite familiar, "I want her to be my girlfriend…only mine." He was wringing his hand, a greedy smirk upon his face.

"How…how can we _give_ you Lily?" Abigail asked anxiously. Graci's head snapped around and she stared at her mother, completely bewildered. Her parents were considering this! They were considering _selling_ her best friend and all she could do was watch helplessly.

Alex grinned, not the cute, flirty grin he'd displayed earlier that evening, but a horribly smug one. He knew he had won.

"Leave that to me," he said in a dark and dangerous voice. "You'll soon find that I am quite the charmer. All you have to do is make sure that I spend as much time as possible with her before term starts." He looked pointedly over at Graci, as if telling her that this was her job.

The Davises nodded and Samson shook hands with Alex as the Purcells stood up to leave. Graci felt sick to her stomach as she watched them file out, one after the other. She was frozen in her seat and waiting for her parents to return to the dining room as she scowled and shook with fury.

"We need to discuss this," Samson said matter-of-factly as he sat across from his daughter and wife.

"What is there to discuss?" Graci hissed. "The boy is obviously a nutter. And since when is it okay to barter someone's life in exchange for redecoration money?" Her voice was full of disgust and getting louder by the word.

"Graci, don't you think you're overreacting a bit?" Abigail asked soothingly. She smoothed Graci's hair and gave a weak smile that Graci did not return. She wanted to hit her parents both very hard over the head to knock some sense into them. "It's not so bad, is it? For all you know this could turn out to be the best thing for her. Think about it, she doesn't have anywhere to go after graduation; she has no money. Alex will be able to take care of her." When her daughter still didn't look convinced she added, "Please darling, we need you!"

Graci was torn, forced to choose between her best friend's happiness and her parents' dreams.

"_Maybe it won't be so bad for Lily,"_ Graci thought as she stared between her parents' hopeful faces. _"She certainly seemed to be enjoying herself this evening. Besides, Alex is very rich and very good looking."_ The more Graci considered this, the more convinced she became that setting Lily and Alex up together was in Lily's best interest.

"What happens when Lily finds out though? What happens if she finds out and doesn't want to date Alex anymore? She'll either break up with him and we'll lose the club or she'll be forced to stay with him out of guilt." Graci bit her lip apprehensively. She was sure that Lily would not go for it if she knew before hand.

"Well, we won't tell her straight away. You're her best friend though, if she says she's going to break up with him then you can tell her the truth." Graci's eyes clearly stated that she was not happy with that idea. "In the meantime, your father and I will be saving up our money so that we can buy the club from Mr. Purcell and then Lily can do as she pleases."

Graci mulled this over, still not entirely sure that it was a good plan, but she could not ignore the pleading look in her parents' eyes.

Looking up at Samson and Abigail, who were still staring avidly at her, she said, "What do I need to do?" Her parents grinned at her with admiration in their eyes. Graci loved it when they looked at her like that and she knew that she would do everything in her power to make sure Alex got what he wanted because it meant that her parents get what they wanted.

On the morning that Lily and Graci were supposed to meet at Alex's house, Lily could be heard bustling about in her bedroom. When Graci entered she had to stifle a laugh. There were mountains of many colored clothing strewn across her bedroom and her make up was spread across her dresser top - some of it spilling onto the floor as well. Lily was staring critically at her reflection in the mirror hanging on her closet door.

When Lily heard Graci she turned quickly and asked, "Is this too 'Look at me?'"

Graci jerked her head back in an appalled way and replied, "No, I don't think he'll even _see_ you in that." She was dressed in loose-fit jeans and a plain white t-shirt. Her hair was pulled back at the base of her neck very tightly and it was impossible to see that she was wearing make up at all. There was an uncharacteristic nervousness in the back of those deep green eyes that struck Graci as very odd. Lily was never nervous. She was always calm and collected, the most confident 7th year girl.

Graci began digging around in the mounds of shirts at Lily's feet and tossed different articles onto her bed violently.

"What are you doing?" Lily asked as she watched her hunched over friend in the mirror.

"Getting you ready. You can't go over there looking like that!" Graci said indignantly as she continued digging in assorted piles and finally threw a new outfit at her friend. When Graci was finished, Lily was dressed in a jean skirt and dark green tank top that accented her eyes very well. Her long hair was let down and her make up much heavier than before.

"I'm not sure about this skirt," Lily murmured as she tugged absentmindedly at it. "I feel…exposed," she said as she pulled too far, revealing her stomach.

"Don't be nervous. You look great!" Graci complimented as she shut Lily's closet door. Lily made an argumentative "hmph" but didn't say anything more about it.

"At least you'll be there," Lily said looking slightly more relaxed. Graci squished up her face and suddenly became much more interested in the strand of hair she was currently twisting about her index finger. Lily's eyes widened. "You are coming, aren't you?"

"Mum wants to talk about the club some, so you're going to have to go yourself." Lily's shoulders dropped and the nervousness in her eyes became more pronounced. "Oh, c'mon Lil, it's not like Alex wants me there anyway, he just invited me to be nice." Lily frowned but didn't argue.

She bade good-bye to Graci and Abigail and then stepped out into the warm sunshine. She turned to her left and began walking toward the enormous house down the street. She continued tugging at her skirt unconsciously as her nerves began to overpower her. Her stomach was writhing and she was beginning to regret having two helpings of eggs for breakfast as she walked up the path to the front door. She swallowed hard when she reached it and nervously began to lift her hand to knock.

"Lily!" Someone had shouted her name before her fist made contact with the door. She jumped from fright and turned to see Alex waving and smiling at her.

He was wearing loose, torn jeans but not a shirt. Lily fought very hard to keep from dropping her mouth open and drooling. He had a water hose in his hand and his tan, muscular chest was glistening in the sunlight. She snapped herself out of her reverie with a slight shake of her head and began walking toward him.

"What are you doing?" she asked gesturing to the hose. He turned and pointed at the sparkling black sports car to his right.

"I was bored and it was hot so I decided to wash the car. The muggles across the street were watching so I had to do it their way. Besides, I thought it would be nice to take a drive to the park a little later." His chocolate eyes sparkled as he beamed down at her.

"A drive to the park, huh?" Lily asked in an attempt (that failed) to be flirty. She was eyeing the car and hoping that Alex wasn't seeing through her attempt to conceal her excitement. Once again, Alex's gaze never left her slender figure. She bit her lip and looked at him, green eyes gleaming as she turned them upon him.

"Yeah, don't you think that would be fun?" His deep voice was very casual but at the same time it was urging her to agree with him. She smiled at him before answering. Of course she agreed. It's not like she had a better idea anyway.

"Great!" he said picking up the sudsy bucket and sponge. "I'll just clean up really quickly. Come on inside and make yourself comfortable."

Lily's jaw dropped as she entered the mansion. The whole of Graci's house could fit in the entryway. It had not looked that large from the outside and she knew that a considerable amount of magic had been done to conceal the sheer size of this house from the passersby.

He led her to the living room where a large sofa and two very comfortable looking chairs were arranged elegantly. On one wall was a library of all kinds of books: reference, fiction, how-to and children's.

She picked up the most recent edition of "Transfiguration Today" off of the coffee table as Alex dashed upstairs to clean up. She ignored her instinct to snoop around a bit, not wanting to offend her new friend.

He was back downstairs clean, fresh and ready to go before Lily had finished the first article.

They drove to the park in an awkward silence, neither really knowing what to say. Alex was constantly stealing glances at her as they drove smoothly through the midday traffic. When she got tired of blushing every time she felt his eyes on her, she tried staring out of the window but it didn't help.

When they got to the park he pulled a picnic basket out of the trunk and as he walked forward she walked next to him.

"Have you ever been here before?" he asked as she stared around, hastily taking in her surroundings. She shook her head as she watched a squirrel jump from one branch to another.

"I haven't been to a park since my parents died." He looked at her inquisitively as she continued staring around. "Graci isn't much of what you might call an 'out-doors' person. This is the kind of thing my dad would have liked," Lily continued though not meeting his staring eyes. He was still gazing at her when she finally turned to smile at him. His eyes did not hold a trace of concern but they were more pensive.

"What other kinds of things did your parents like to do?" he asked, surprising her. Usually whenever she began talking about her dead parents, people automatically changed the subject.

"Oh, I don't know. They were muggles so they were really into the basic stuff: movies, picnics, bridge night, things like that." She smiled as she reminisced about old times and barely realized that they had stopped. Her grin widened as she glanced around their spot.

They were on the edge of a pond and in the shade of some rather large trees. The pond had lily pads, ducks, tadpoles, the whole nine yards. It was picture perfect.

Alex lay down a blanket and began making Lily a sandwich as she threw bits of bread to feed the ducks. She laughed as one of the baby ducklings began following her around until she fed it. Alex leaned back against the bark of a tree and watched as she gracefully ran from one edge of the pond to the other, her red hair blowing in the wind.

When she began walking back to him, her cheeks were pink and her chest was rising more rapidly but he thought that it only made her more beautiful. She was glowing and didn't seem to be able to stop smiling.

"So Alex, what do you do?" Lily asked as she finished off a bottle of butterbeer and rolled over onto her back to stare up at the blue sky.

"I beg your pardon?" he retorted somewhat confused.

"What do you do at school? Quidditch, charms club…future Death Eaters group…"

"Oh yeah, that's it right there," he said with a laugh. "No, I didn't really do much, but I've actually been made prefect for next year." There was a smug air to his tone as he smirked, unseen by Lily.

"Really? That's great!" Lily said leaning up to smile at him. "I'm Head Girl so we'll be seeing a lot of each other this year I guess."

"I sure hope so," Alex said with another smirk. He lay down next to her and they talked lightly for another two hours. They talked some more about her parents and the fact that she was going to have to work with James Potter all year. They would have continued to lay there until dark except that dark clouds began to roll in and the thunder warned them that a storm was coming in.

Lily helped Alex pack up the picnic things and they began walking back to the car. When they were halfway back, Alex's hand brushed against Lily's and instead of pulling it away like she usually would have, she bit her lip again and moved a little bit closer to him. He took a hold of her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers. Lily felt herself go very red and smiled widely as they continued walking back to the car in silence.

He let go when he had to reach for his wand and tapped the lock of the trunk to put the basket in. As they began their way back to the Davis's street, Lily voiced a question she'd been wondering about since that night at dinner.

"Why do you like me more than Graci?" He looked over at her and without hesitating a second he replied, "I need someone who's more on my level; someone who isn't high maintenance." He said it very arrogantly as if it were a very good thing to say and then looked forward again as it began to rain. Lily wasn't sure if she should take it as a compliment or not but decided to leave it alone.

They both remained silent until reaching Graci's house. Alex grabbed Lily's hand again and asked her to go out with him again the following day. She could think of no good reason to refuse so she agreed and he told her to be ready at six the next evening.

She smiled before leaving him in the car and ran up to the front door and quickly entered the house. She didn't like the idea of knowing that Alex was staring at her for too long.

Despite the odd ride home, Lily could not deny that she had had a good time. She relayed the afternoon to Graci who looked very excited as Lily neared the end of her story.

"Did he kiss you?" she asked exuberantly, bobbing up and down on the bed.

"No," Lily replied indignantly. "It wasn't even supposed to be a date, remember. You were supposed to be there."

"It's not like you missed me," Graci replied with the slightest hint of bitterness in her voice.

The next day Lily was a bit more relaxed, at least in the sense that she was able to get dressed without emptying her whole closet on the floor. She hadn't been able to get down much lunch and hadn't swallowed a bite of her dinner. She paced around the living room, chewing on her fingernails as she waited for his knock to come. She jumped from fright when the doorbell sounded and hastily began smoothing over the wrinkles in her blouse as she heard Graci answer the door.

"Ready to go?" Alex said poking his head around the corner. He let out a low whistle when he caught sight of her and leaned against the door frame, hands in pockets, surveying her outfit. She was wearing tight jeans and a satin purple shirt. Her hair was pulled up into a knot at the back of her head but she had strands of the vibrant red hair hanging down around her neck.

"Yes…and you don't look so bad yourself," she said moving towards him. She raised her eyebrows at Graci who had rolled her eyes and made a retching motion behind Alex's back.

Alex put his hand on the small of her back and led her to the car.

"Where exactly are we going?" Lily asked. She had wondered because Alex was dressed more nicely than the previous day. He was in new jeans and a deep blue sweater. His curly hair was flopping down into his eyes and the only word Lily could think of to describe him was "sexy."

She tried to push that word out of her mind as she sat in the car and waited for him to run around to his side and get in.

"Well, I thought we'd do a kind of 'muggle night,' you know, do some of the stuff you said your dad liked to do yesterday. First we're going to see a movie at the cinema, and then we'll go get a greasy burger from the local burger joint. I tried to learn to play bridge this afternoon, but that's one tradition you're going to have to let go of."

Lily laughed but was very excited. They bought popcorn and some raisinettes and found an ideal seat in the center of the room. She explained to him how the reel worked before the lights dimmed and he laughed as she squealed with excitement.

He put his arm around her halfway through the movie and she missed most of the movie as the majority of her attention was on how her hand felt in his. She wondered what she had missed as three other couples walked by, all of the girls bawling.

They walked down the street to a place called "Fat Juicy Burger" and Alex explained to her the plot of the movie as she lied and said that she hadn't understood. He had looked at her quizzically but answered her question anyway.

Lily scowled at a couple of girls who giggled and waved to Alex who completely ignored them, but he chuckled at Lily's reaction.

"Pretty possessive for a second date." Lily blushed but continued to eat her burger, which really wasn't that juicy.

"Where'd you get that scar?" Lily asked, pointing to the spot on his right forearm.

"I'll tell you but it's a secret," he said lowering his voice and leaning down low over the table. She did the same so that their faces were a mere three inches from each other. "You can't tell a soul!" Lily pretended to zip her lips and looked eagerly into his chocolate brown eyes. "I killed a guy." She snorted with laughter and he broke into a grin. She rolled her eyes and leaned back in the booth crossing her arms.

"C'mon, tell me the truth," she laughed.

"It was third year in Hogsmeade. I was in there with my friends and we decided to go to Zonko's. Timothy, who's a muggleborn, didn't really understand that the Dr. Filibuster's Wet Start Fireworks actually _start_ when they get wet. He shot some water at them and they went off and one went right into my arm. So, I've got these fireworks and sparks going off and burning my arm. My other friend, Aytee, who wasn't the best at performing spells under pressure tried to put them out but used a "t" instead of a "g" and shot razors at my arm.

Anyway, long story short, he cut my arm open and sparks went off in it and the owner had to come out and take care of it. They rushed me back to the Hospital Wing and Madam Pomfrey healed it in about a second but said that she couldn't do anything about the scar."

Lily looked terrified as he finished his story. The worst that had ever happen to her was getting her leg stuck in the trick step her first day at school and missing the entire Transfiguration class and Professor McGonagall had yelled at her for a half hour.

"It's not that bad," he said in response to the horrified look on her face. "I kind of like it, helps me get the girls." He smirked arrogantly at the sudden change in her face. It had quickly gone from horror-struck to irate. He laughed at her expression and she rolled her eyes and gave a half-hearted laugh as well.

"Okay, my turn to ask a question," Alex began as he set his drink down on the table and looked intently at her. "Why do you hate James Potter so much?" Lily's face must have betrayed her shock because his grin widened. This had been the last question she had expected.

"I don't hate Potter," she replied simply. Now it was his turn to look surprised, for this was the last answer he had expected.

"So…what, you like him?" There was a trace of envy in his chocolate brown eyes.

"NO, no, no, no, not even close. Potter irritates me beyond belief. I can't stand to be around him but that doesn't mean that I hate him. He has…_some_ redeeming qualities, though he doesn't show them very often."

"Like what?" he growled, taking her by surprise.

"Well, he's very good at making jokes, isn't he? He cheered me up considerably after another girl in our year, Kadence Summers, called me a…well, suffice it to say that she rather upset me. He didn't tell anyone about it surprisingly. Also, last year he eased up a bit on first years, though he could still do with a bit of deflating that head of his. He must be very loyal too, if you think about it. He's had the same three friends since first year…that's got to count for something. And I've seen him do some things, though not entirely appropriate, for his friends that a lot of people wouldn't do." Lily watched Alex as his face slowly relaxed back into his normal casual expression. "I mean, in all honesty, it's a good thing that he can, at times, act human around me because I'll be working with him all year."

She rolled her eyes and made a gagging motion that eased his appearance even more.

At this point he stood up and took her hand to lead her back to the car and they drove back to Graci's house. This time though he walked her to the door unlike the previous night. He stared at her, not breaking his gaze as they stood on the dark doorstep.

"I had a really nice time tonight, Alex," Lily said quietly as she tried not to think about what was coming next. She however did not meet his eyes but stared down at his white sneakers. Her mind was racing, wild thoughts chasing each other. She couldn't help but think about how her breath would be smelling after that disgusting burger or whether or not she would be up to his "standard."

Lily had had only one other boyfriend before and she didn't actually like him all that much. She was just trying to get Potter to leave her alone. And besides her ex-boyfriend, the only other person that had ever kissed her was Sirius Black and that was a dare at the beginning of 3rd year. It had earned him a hearty slap from Lily and a detention from McGonagall for public displays of affection during her class.

"I really like you," he answered in a very confident and slightly loud voice. It sounded as though he was pronouncing it for everyone to hear rather than just something private shared between the two of them.

Before she knew it, he had two fingers under her chin, lifting her face so that she was looking into his brown eyes. He was leaning in close to her and their lips were only an inch apart. Lily closed her eyes in expectation, but before his lips touched hers the porch light had turned on and Samson had opened the door, wand at the ready.

"Oh…erm…terribly sorry," he muttered and quickly closed the door again. Alex looked slightly put out but Lily had a grin on her face and was looking back at the ground.

"Well, I'll see you Saturday, okay," she said backing up slightly.

"Fine, fine," he grumbled as though he were thinking that he had just missed out on a very nice treat. "Dinner at my place sound good?" he murmured. She grinned again and nodded.

"Good night," she said opening the door and disappearing behind it. She quickly headed over to the window to watch him walk back to the car. He was kicking the ground in a disgruntled kind of way and was still frowning when he opened the door and climbed back in.

Lily sighed and then grabbing her bag, headed up the stairs feeling lighter than she had all summer. She entered her room and had to stifle a scream when she found Graci sitting up on her bed with an anxious look on her face.

A huge grin spread across Lily's and Graci's eyes widened.

"He kissed you!" she squealed in her high pitched voice. Lily shook her head and dropped her bag and ran and jumped down next to her friend.

"No, but almost. Your dad opened the door right before it happened." Graci sighed and rolled her eyes and looked almost as put out as Alex had.

The next few days went well. Alex disappeared, or at least the car did but Lily didn't seem bothered by it. Graci followed her around and talked about Alex almost unceasingly. She went on and on about the benefits of having Alex; rich, powerful, handsome Alex as her boyfriend.

On Friday, they sat in Lily's bedroom as the rain poured down outside, Graci talking about how amazing Alex is and Lily swiveling in her desk chair pretending to listen.

"Ha! I've just thought of something!" Graci announced snapping Lily out of her lull. "Potter!" She squealed in delight and Lily just sat in her chair looking confused.

"What are you on about?" Lily questioned after a few moments of trying to work out what Graci had meant.

"You're going to be dating a rich, handsome, practically perfect guy and Potter won't be too happy about that, will he?"

Lily swiveled again and hit her forehead with her palm.

"Please don't turn my relationship into a vessel of revenge against something stupid he said years ago," Lily pleaded as she spun even faster.

Graci didn't reply but continued laughing to herself on the bed.

The next day, the last day before they would be returning to Hogwarts, was also Lily and Alex's final date before term started. They would be having dinner at his still abandoned mansion. According to him, he was an incredible cook and she should come ready to eat.

She headed down the street at seven, dressed in a knee-length black skirt and a green blouse. He opened the door before she knocked and led her to the dining room. She looked around astounded. It wasn't so much a dining room as a dining _hall_.There was an arched ceiling and it was big enough to fit the teacher's table into and still have plenty of room to move about.

Instead there was a small table, the size just big enough to fit their meal and places for two people to sit. She couldn't suppress a grin at the lace table cloth and two candlesticks burning in the center.

He pulled out the chair for her and served portions of the dishes onto her plate. It all looked beautiful and she could barely keep from drooling as the succulent aromas met her nostrils. But as good as it looked and smelled could not even compare to the way it tasted. She would swear up and down for weeks that it was the best thing she had ever tasted. The roast chicken was so tender and juicy and all of the side dishes were the same. They had chocolate mousse for dinner and it practically melted in her mouth.

When they had both finished eating, Alex merely flicked his wand and the dishes sped to the sink and began washing themselves. Alex grabbed her hand and led her to the back door of his house. She was almost as shocked to see that his back yard looked more like a park as she had been to see the size of the dining room.

He continued holding her hand as they walked around outside, the sun setting and causing the sky to be a beautiful range of oranges and reds. They walked around to a fountain of a large mermaid that was spitting water out of her mouth and stopped.

"You look so beautiful," he stated as he turned to face her and grabbed her other hand.

"Oh, well…so do you," she muttered and couldn't believe that she had to stifle a laugh. She knew what he was doing. He was trying to recreate what had been interrupted three nights ago. He was going to kiss her and she knew it and yet she felt like cracking up into a fit of giggles.

Her idiotic statement didn't seem to faze Alex though. He stepped closer to her and was gazing at her with that impenetrable look again as she fought to maintain a straight face.

"I've never felt this way about a girl before," he said, clearly trying to make the mood romantic.

"Good, that's really good," she replied again smothering another laugh. She was beginning to irritate him and he was determined to kiss her so without further ado he leaned in and hit her with a powerful kiss.

Lily was slightly taken aback by his fierceness. She assumed that it was only because she seemed to be resisting it and finally gave in and kissed him back. She hadn't really expected their first kiss to be like that, but she wasn't complaining.

Just like everything else, Alex seemed to be a step above everyone else. He had more money than anyone else she knew, a bigger house, and he was a very good kisser, much better than her ex-boyfriend and Sirius.

Alex kept her outside until darkness had fallen completely around them and then walked her back home and kissed her again. Graci was again waiting for Lily in her bedroom but Lily wasn't too keen on talking about it.

It hadn't been at all like she had expected and unlike everything she had ever dreamed about, she did not feel elated. She was definitely happy to be able to breathe properly again and finally divulged the details of the night to Graci.

**A/N-**Remember to check out my livejournal for review replies. I answer questions and give hints and whatnot. Also, if you want to ask anything just go ahead and post it on the livejournal and I'll be sure to answer. I post things like hints from the next chapter and how my writing is coming.

Thanks for reading and it would totally make my day if you would all leave me a review. And just remember the lengthier the better! Thanks so much you guys!


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